Diamond in the Rough
by Captain Turlow
Summary: Virginia had always lived under the shadow of her brother but after they are separated during the battle at Hamunaptra she begins to learn her true potential with the help of a certain Medjai. Ardeth/OC. Not your typical Rick's sister story, I promise.
1. Separation

**Well I just finished a rather long Lord of the Rings story and after watching the Mummy was inspired to write my next story in this world. It is my first story in the Mummy universe but not my first story to fan fiction. There will be a better summery on my author page soonish so until then just give the first chapter a try.**

Gunshots and cries of pain rang out in what would otherwise be the silence of the vast desert. Virginia knew the world was not a perfect place, and that war and death were common in it, but what she was involved in was no great war like the one that had shook the world a few years ago. She was involved in a fight over a city that was supposed to not exist but the ruins were surrounding her and her fellows as the chaos of battle ranged all around her.

She had no idea where he brother was and was once again contemplating why she had decided to become a medic in the French Foreign Legion in the middle of the Egyptian desert. Her once pale completion was now sun scorched and not at all suited for the harshness of the desert, nor was she much of a fighter or had any real medical training. Like anything in her life however Rick, her brother had been able to "persuade" the commander of the troops to let her join. Her brother had never really learned the concept taught to most young children which was to use ones words rather than ones fists. In fact Rick wasn't even really her brother, or at least not by blood anyway. Virginia had spent most of her childhood in an orphanage in Cairo where she had met Rick O'Connell and he took her under his wing. They were all each other had and now they were separated from one another.

The legion had travelled all the way across the desert in search of Hamanaptra, the city of the dead, and they had found it. It turns out however Turges tribesmen had also found the city and did not have any interest in sharing the discovery with the French, resulting in a bloody battle that Virginia now found herself running away from. After their first in command had decided to turn tail and run Rick had told Virginia to do the same before the tribesmen could even get there, telling her he would find her once the battle was over.

She did not go far but rather watched the battle from a distance hiding amongst some of the far walls of the city. When she no longer heard any noise she went out into the city to look for any survivors. Her panic grew when she realized that she saw none and it reached a height when she realized that Rick was nowhere to be found. She was alone in the middle of the desert and this thought terrified her. Where was she to go? What was she to do? She remembered that Rick had told her he would be back for her and although she felt silly doing it she decided to wait for him to return. She kept herself occupied by setting up camp and taking inventory of the supplies she had, she quickly came to the revelation that she would run out of water in about three days which was not a comforting notion. Once she was done with her camp she looked out into the desert and noticed riders looking down at the city from the rocky cliffs surrounding it and she wondered if they had been there the whole time.

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Meanwhile Ardeth Bey and the Medjai stood watch over the city of Hamanaptra making sure it was never to be discovered. They had witnessed the bloody battle earlier that day and watched as what they had first believed to be one of its few survivors journey off into the desert.

They had not realized there was anyone left until they saw smoke coming from a rather small campfire as the sun began to set over the desert. Ardeth wondered why the solder would remain when all his comrades were now dead, and he reasoned that perhaps they meant to bury them once it got dark and the heat of the sun on longer beat upon them. It was for this reason the Medjai had decided to wait until evening to see what the last solder's intentions were.

They did not act until night had fallen and the solider put out their fire and entered the tent the solider had pitched earlier. If the solider had intended to stay and bury the fallen they would have done so by now, which posed the question of why they remained. It was also a question that Ardeth wanted an answer to.

They rode into the soldier's rather lonely camp and were so far undetected or if they were the soldier showed no signs of being on the defensive. Being cautious by nature however Ardeth knew it was best to expect the unexpected however what he was not prepared for what they found when the pulled back the flaps of the tent to revel who was inside it.

It was a flaxen haired woman dressed in a military uniform, sleeping soundly clutching a medical bag and using a knapsack as a pillow. This was not at all what any of them had been expecting nor could they do what they had originally planned, after all it did not seem right to threaten an innocent woman and then leave her to the harshness of the desert.

Ardeth closed let go of the tent flap, closing it and walked a slight distance away from it before turning to Amar his right hand man and good friend to speak. Amar however beat him to it.

"What are we going to do?"

At this Ardeth let out a sigh for it was a difficult choice to make. This woman knew about Hamanaptra and although she had not discovered the creature or even came close to it she posed a threat for she could help with its discovery. "She's knows too much already."

"So you are saying we kill the sleeping woman?" Said Amar knowing it was their duty to protect the city but not at all liking the sound of this statement, after all it was not like the woman found anything that would help with the discovery of the creature.

Ardeth could sense the tone of doubt in his friend's voice. "Perhaps we could take her to the village and then we will gather all the elders and let them decided her fate."

"And how do you propose we get her there?" Said Amar. What none of the Medjai realized was their answer had just presented itself to them. Virginia was had once been sleeping soundly woke to the sound of voices outside her tent, she did not know what they were saying nor would she if she could hear them properly for Ardeth and Amar were speaking in Arabic.

She pulled out the small pistol Rick had given her for protection and made her way out the back of the tent hoping to sneak by whoever these men where undetected, however there were more of them stationed on the other side of the tent and they quickly grabbed her and brought her over to the men at the front of the tent. She struggled to break free from her captors but to no avail and she had even dropped her firearm in the process. She noticed that all the men around her looked like desert people, with dark hair and tattoos on their faces.

"Look I own nothing valuable, nor do I want any trouble I'm just waiting for my brother." She said thinking they must be marauders trying to rob her, if they understood English she hoped by saying this they might leave her alone. The man who appeared to be their leader seemed to be staring at her intently. The reason for this was that Ardeth had noticed something on her arm that had caught his attention, when she was struggling the cloth tied around her wrist had come off reveling what looked to be a tattoo but he could not be sure. He reached for her arm to look closer but she jerked away from him.

"I just want to see your arm, we mean you no harm." He said in perfect English much to Virginia's surprise. In fact she was so surprised that she actually held out her arm for him. On the under part of her arm just below her wrist there was a tattoo of two kings standing beside a pyramid with an eye in the center, it had been given to her as well as to Rick when a strange man had visited the orphanage in Cairo. He had told both children that this tattoo meant they were important and he told them a phrase to remember. Virginia remembered the phrase just as well as she remembered how much the tattoo had hurt when she got it.

Ardeth was surprised to see the tattoo on her arm, as were the rest of the Medjai. This woman seemed to have very little military training, how was it that she was given the sacred mark and why?

"If I were to say to you that I am a stranger traveling from the east, looking for that which is lost." Said Ardeth saying the phrase anyway, if it were a mistake and this mark just resembled another the woman would not know how to answer. The woman looked at this with a puzzled expression for a moment before she answered. "Then I would reply, I am a traveler from the West, it is I whom you seek…" She said noticing the man looked surprised by her response; she looked at the floor rather than him when she answered. "It was given to me at an orphanage, the tattoo I mean, the man told me it was because I was someone of importance. I would not be surprised if he was mistaken though, I'm no one of great consequence."

"Allah, must want to keep you around for some reason, we have been keeping watch over this land your survived quite the battle. Also regardless of what you may believe you still carry the mark of the Medjai and therefore we shall take you back to our camp and then your fate will be decided."

"I can't leave; I'm waiting for my brother." She said hesitantly all of these men were armed and they did not look like the kind of people to be trifled with.

"Your brother was claimed by the desert, we watched him wander off hours ago." He said regretting how harshly he had stated this the moment her saw a look of great sadness go across her face, however a moment later she clenched her jaw and said glaring at him "I think you are lying. I know my brother and he's very stubborn he wouldn't just leave me out here."

"Believe what you will, but I speak the truth. You are coming with us, it would be preferred if it was calmly but we will bring you there by force if we must." He said firmly. For a moment judging by the way she looked at him he though she was ready to put up a fight however she seemed to realize she was greatly outnumbered and resistance was not in her best interest.

Virginia agreed to go with the men, with some reluctance. She knew what Rick would have done in such a situation but she unlike Rick had never been much of a fighter, she was a runner and did not like to confront her fears. She had also gone with these men because it helped her run from one of her greatest fears which was being alone, although she was rather quite Virginia always felt more at ease when she was around people. Perhaps this was because after growing up in a crowded orphanage where one hardly ever had a moment's piece the thought of loneliness was terrifying. She took a moment to grab her knapsack and medical bag, she but the knapsack on her back and clutched the medical bag tightly to her chest. It had been a gift from her brother, the means in which he acquired it were questionable but it was the thought that counted. He said he was destined to be a healer because she had so much practice at it and often patched up her brother and his friends when they hurt themselves.

They reached the village just as the sun was rising, since it was still early everyone else besides a few men on the nightly watch were awake. The village was a rather small settlement and judging by the fact that the housing was all tents Virginia realized these people must be nomadic and probably did not stay in one area for very long. The man who had spoke to her earlier lead her to one of the tents, an older woman sat in the main part of the tent and he spoke to the woman in Arabic before telling Virginia in English that she was to remain here for the time being. Shortly after he left the woman who didn't seem to speak a word of English ushered her into one of the rooms of the tent, in the room was a roll up mattress, a small oil lamp and a few books in a small pile in the corner. The woman handed her some new clothes which Virginia assumed were meant for her to wear.

"Thank you." She said with a smile knowing the woman would not understand her words but hoping the smile would help express her gratitude. She had after all been wearing that same uniform for days and she imagined it was not very clean anymore. After she changed into the new clothes which were a black set of robes very similar to the ones the woman who had gave them to her was wearing. She however did not put on the headpiece that would have covered her face because she did not really know how to put it on. Wearing clean clothes she felt better already but she still could not help but wonder how she was going to find Rick. She did not care what the man had said, she knew her brother and she knew he would not have left unless he had a good reason. Perhaps he had been taken prisoner like she had been.

She looked around at her settings again, this time walking over to the small piles of books most of which were in English, they consisted of works of Shakespeare, histories of Eygpt, translation of Plato's Republic and many more important works. She also noticed that there was a stand with a leather glove on it that looked like what someone used for falconry. She stepped away from the books when the woman from before came into the room once again and brought her a tray of food and a canteen of water. She was beginning to feel more like a guest in this person's home rather than a prisoner.

She passed most of the day sitting in the room, trying to figure out a way to escape. No one was guarding her, however she had no idea where she was and she was not about to go blindly wandering off into the desert in hopes of finding a city. She would most likely either die of thirst or be attacked by other desert people who she imagined would not be as hospitable as these people had been. For now she realized all she could do was wait until she had more information.

The man who had spoken to her earlier returned sometime in the evening to speak with her once again. She noticed when he entered the room he set his sword down beside the bed and she realized by how naturally he had done this that this was probably his room.

"We have been discussing what we are going to do about you all day and it has been decided you will remain in the village. While you are here we will train you in the ways of the Medjai and you will learn about your sacred duty."

"And if I refuse?" she said although she was curios to learn more about the tattoo she wanted to know all of her choices.

"Most likely they would decide to have you killed for you know too much about Hamanaptra and you would be a liability to its safety."

"Oh." She said quietly beginning to wonder just what she had gotten herself into this time because she had decided to follow Rick on one of his endeavors. Sure she had been in tough situations before, a certain bank job came to mind first but never before had she found herself in such a peculiar situation as this and never was she without Rick for guidance.

"Can I go to Cairo and look for my brother first?" she said having a feeling the man would say no but still feeling it could not hurt to ask.

"I do not think that would be wise, you must understand that we have been keeping the city of Hamanaptra protected for thousands of years and we cannot be sure we trust you to keep its location a secret yet." Said Ardeth with a sigh. He did not have the heart to tell this woman that her brother who had wandered off into the desert was most likely dead, he could tell already that she had been close to her brother and crushing the bit of hope she seemed to hold onto did not seem wise.

"So I am to stay here then?" she said looking around the room.

"For now, until we can get a room of your own set up for you. You would do well to get some rest; we will start your training tomorrow. My mother will wake you in the morning." He said, and Virginia assumed her meant the elderly woman who had given her the new clothes and food earlier that day.

"And will you be training me then?" She said.

"Yes, I am the only one fluent in English, others know it well but not well enough, you will have enough to learn tomorrow already it would be unfair to let language get in the way ever further." He said about to leave when she spoke again.

"And what shall I call you?" She said with interest. She wondered what they where possibly going to train her in. She found herself actually looking forward to it, for she had learned from her misadventures with her brother it was best to take any opportunity to learn something new for you never knew when you might need such a skill.

"My name is Ardeth Bey."

"I would say it is nice to meet you Mr. Bey but given the circumstances I'm not sure where I stand on my feelings towards anyone here, for you have all essentially taken me prisoner."

"You are not a prisoner, you are free to leave if you wish." He said slightly caught off guard by her rather frank response.

"Am I? I have nowhere else to go, unless I wish to parish in the desert." She said with a sigh.

"Perhaps, you were sent here for a reason? Destiny works in strange ways sometimes, that mark on your arms means you are a Medjai, a warrior for God, and although you may try and run from that path it is who you are and you would do best to embrace it."

"You really think I'm so sort of warrior? Have you seen me?" She said with disbelief.

"You may not be one now, but someday you might be." He said as he looked at her truly for the first time. She was certainly not what one would think a warrior would look like, she was of an average height and had the face of a china doll except instead of being a pale white, her skin was tanned from the harsh desert sun. When one first looked upon her you would not think in a million years she could ever achieve the skills of a warrior however he say something in her dark blue eyes that had suggest that she had a tenacity about her and a will to endure, it was buried deep inside her but somewhere was a great inner strength that made him actually believe the words he had just spoken. "Now I believe I have told you my name, what is yours?" He asked realizing an awkward silence had fallen between them while he had been studying her.

"Virginia, Virginia O'Connell." She said quietly.

**So this story will take place during the 3 years before Rick returns to Hamanaptra as well as during the first Mummy movie for sure, possibly the second one I haven't decided on that yet. Anyway there you have it the first chapter, don't forget to review and tell me what you think. Oh and this will be an Ardeth/OC story so this should be fun to write.**


	2. First Day of Training

**Well seeing as people seem interested in the story I have decided to continue, plus I have high hopes for this story, enjoy the next chapter and thank you for all the reviews.**

Virginia was surprised at how well she had actually slept given the circumstances she was in a completely different place than she usually would be sleeping in. You think by now she would have gotten used to moving from place to place but it was something she had never quiet gotten used to and usually had trouble sleeping in a new place at least for the first two nights or so.

At first she thought the reason she had slept so well was that she had a trying day, after all it's not every day you lose everything that is important to you and find out that you are a warrior for god. This morning however when she woke to the sunlight streaming through the fabric of the tent she realized what had put her so at ease. Usually when she slept in a new place one of the things she always noticed first was that it smelled differently and not bad, just different this place however had a slight smell of cumin in the air, in fact it reminded her of the orphanage. The orphanage was located in a building near the main market in Cairo and there had been a street vender who sold spices near the building causing it to always smell of cumin and other spices. She remembered Rick had always complained about the smell but to her spices always reminded her of the orphanage which was the closest thing she had to a home.

She took her time getting dressed and ready for the day for no one had come to wake her this morning so she assumed that perhaps they had forgotten about her or where having more meetings discussing what they planned to do with her. In fact once she had gotten ready she was not sure if she was even allowed to leave the room, although Mr. Bey had said that she was not a prisoner she still felt very much like an outsider and realized she could not even explain her actions to someone if she ran into them, after all they might think she was trying to leave. She went over to the pile of books in the corner and picked up Taming the Shrew the play by Shakespeare and sat back on the bed taking comfort in the familiarity of the story.

Meanwhile Ardeth Bey sat in the main area of the tent where he had actually slept that night because the woman Ms. O'Connell had been sleeping in his own room. At sunrise he had gone to fetch her but his mother had stopped him saying that it was best if they let her sleep and let her wake on her own time.

He was however getting impatient it was nearly afternoon now and it would soon be too hot outside to get any real training done and they had a lot of ground to cover. Most Medjai began training at a very young age and to be honest at first he was surprised by the elders' choice but he respected the decision. He had thought they would suggest relocating her or perhaps even killing her but which was what they did want to do until one of the elders brought of the point that the world was changing and having someone who understood more about the British archeologists and such trying to discover new places in Egypt the better off they could be. It was actually a rather brilliant plan, if they trained the woman to become a Medjai they were basically making the perfect spy, someone who looked English and would be trusted by such people but someone who was fighting for their cause.

Although it was a good plan it would take a lot of effort on his part to make it an actuality. Not to mention he saw much raw potential in the girl but if such potential was not refined she would be useless to them.

Eventually he did decide to check on her and stood beside the flap in the tent that led to what was his room, though she was currently occupying it.

"Ms. O'Connell?" He said hoping that speaking might either wake her or she would answer if she was already awake.

"Yes?" She said putting the book down and heading over to the tent flap opening it. He noticed by her rather tidy appearance she had been awake for some time now.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to read half of Taming the Shrew. Whose books are those it's quite a good selection?"

"They are mine." He said distracted by the question for a moment but still annoyed with her. "If you have been awake all this time why did you not come and find me so we could begin your training?"

Virginia however could sense annoyance in his tone and actually became mad at him for being annoyed with her. "Because all you told me last night besides the fact that you are going to train me to be a warrior for god is that your mother was supposed to come and wake me in the morning. If you do not like the outcome of how I dealt with that information perhaps you should have given me better instructions." She said sharply, it however did not come across as harshly as she had intended for her stomach decided to remind her of it presence and the fact that she had had nothing to eat since last night, causing it to growl rather loudly.

Ardeth was about to scold her for being so disrespectful which he was unable to manage doing when her stomach growled causing him to chuckle a little. This woman had been so afraid of them that not even hunger caused her to venture out of her room. He didn't seem to be able to convince her that she was not a prisoner.

"Let's get you something to eat first, then I can tell you in more detail what your training will entail and in the evening when the sun has gone down we can see how much you already know."

Virginia had been given some food and although she usually was a picky eater, she was so hungry she did not care what she was eating, nor did she know for that matter. Mr. Bey had explained that the way her training would work, they would train early in the morning before the sun made it too hot out, then during the day they would study the history of the Medjai, in the late afternoon she would have a few hours to herself to do whatever she wanted, and then in the evening when the sun had set they would train again until late at night when she would retire for the evening.

After hearing this rather busy schedule Virginia was beginning to realize just how serious they were about training her to be a Medjai and that perhaps she wasn't so much a prisoner as she thought for you usually would not teach a captive the art of war.

Since it was still too hot for her to actually start her training, she was told she had free time to do whatever she wanted. Ardeth being the leader of the tribe had other business to attend to and left her alone in the tent. She spent a little while just wandering around the rather small sitting area before she gained enough courage to venture outside into the village.

Virginia was used to walking around places and having people pay little or no attention to her however what she was not used to was being the center of attention and the topic of most people's conversations which was exactly what was happening to her now. She imagined these people did not get new villagers very often nor did they manage to look almost the complete opposite of just about every inhabitant.

Some of the children of the village even looked at her as though she was some sort of mythical creature, and she figured if these children never left the village she could very well be the first blonde haired blue eyed person any of them had seen. Eventually her wanderings took her to a small stable where all the horses where being kept. Virginia loved horses and had actually spent a lot of her teenage years helping out at a stable in Cairo. She walked along the mid section of the stable as most of the horses just watched her. One horse in particular got her attention when it nudged her with its nose as she walked past.

"Hello there." She said turning so she was now facing the horse and she slowly reached up a hand to pet the front of its head. The horse let out a snort as if to say well glad you finally noticed me. The horse was a very dark black and was a rather beautiful animal. "You wouldn't by any chance know the way to Cairo would you?" she asked the horse and was very surprised when someone answered.

"It would not surprise me, he is a smart animal." Said a heavily accented voice from behind her. She turned quickly startled by the voice. When she turned she saw the man who had spoken was one of the Medjai who had been at the campsite the day she had been taken to the village. He was the one who had been talking with Mr. Bey.

"Your English is pretty good." She said turning her attention back to the horse.

"I speak it with too much of an accent, and if rushed it quickly turns to Arabic." Said the man watching her pet the horse. "I'm surprised he let you near him, Ardeth's horse is very particular about who is allowed near him. He hates me for some reason."

"Yes, well I have always been good with horses."

"You are taking all this rather well, I mean, the news about your duty, new place to live and all."

"When you spend your whole life not really having a set place to call home it makes it much easier to move from place to place." Said Virginia.

"You see fairly attached to Cairo if you were asking the horse where it is."

"Not in particular just want to get my barring a bit, have an idea of where in the desert I am." She said with a shrug but seeing this as an opportunity to perhaps gain some useful information. If she could figure out who to get to Cairo she might be able to find her brother.

"If you ride all day it's about a two day's ride to the West." Said Amar. Virginia and him talked some more and learned each other's names while Amar tended to his horse like he had planned to do when he had come to the stable. Viriginia learned from Amar that the reason Ardeth was teaching her rather than someone who was not as high ranking as him, it was not just because Ardeth was the best at speaking English but also because he was the best fighter out of anyone in the village. Since she was so far behind in her training being taught by the best would help her learn quicker. She also wondered if the reason why Amar was not teaching her was because he was far too friendly and answered most of her questions unlike Mr. Bey who just seemed slightly annoyed by her all the time.

Eventually the sun began to set and Ardeth came into the stables after searching everywhere else for Ms. O'Connell. Virginia noticed her carried two wooden sabers and he handed one to her.

"We will start training with these and work out way up from there. If you will just follow me. In the future it would also be best if you returned to the tent before your training so I do not have to search the whole village to find you" He said before heading out of the stable. He walked quickly and Virginia nearly had to run to catch up with him. He lead her to a place just outside of the village.

"Today's lesson is merely just to see what kind of training you already have and how you fight naturally." He explained getting into a fighting stance. "Now I want you to attack me."

At this Virginia looked between the Medjai who looked coiled and ready to spring and the wooden sword in her hand. "Uh, seriously?" She said looking at him like he was crazy.

"Yes go ahead." He said calmly.

"How?" She said unsure if this was some sort of trick or something.

"However you are used to fighting or how you would think you should fight with a saber." He said not having more than a moment before she swung at him. Her swings where clumsy and rather easy to block and for awhile he merely kept letting her swing at him while he blocked letting her get used to the idea of using a sword. What he was not at all prepared for however was what happened after a few minutes of her attacks constantly being blocked, at one moment while she swung the weapon at him she also kicked up her foot hitting him in the groin causing him to actually fall over.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" she said dropping her weapon and standing over him.

"May I ask, what made you decided to do such a thing?" he said through clenched teeth.

"My brother always said since I was a girl I did always have one advantage in a fight and that was too well, hit a guy where it hurts. He said men don't usually do that to one another because it's kind of a low blow and all. I really am sorry about that." She said as he stood up looking rather unhappy with her. She could only imagine why when she had done a similar thing to Rick when they were kids he was on the ground for at least five minutes.

"I think that, I have had enough of fighting your way. Perhaps it is best if we get started on learning the proper way to use a sword." He said putting his own weapon on the ground and walking over to where she stood. He helped her get into the proper stance and showed her the proper way to hold the blade.

Ardeth noticed Virginia was actually a rather good student when she set her mind to it. She was a quick learner and was doing quite well with the very crude training she had in fighting. He did however notice that her attention span was not very long and they would often take breaks when he could tell her attention was waning. They would often not talk during these breaks but on one particular one when she was looking up at the night sky she said to him. "They just make you feel so small and unimportant don't they?"

"What?" he said not really sure what she was saying.

"The stars. There are so many of them and the sky is so large. Though I suppose I'm not so unimportant after all since I'm some sort of warrior for God."

"Everyone is important, they just feel as though they are not because they had not found their purpose in this world. And you are not a warrior yet, you still have a long way to go before then." After he said this he heard her mumbled something that she must have thought he could not hear but he did and therefore answered her. "You may have beaten me once today, but in such an underhanded way it should not count." He said with a smirk. He could tell she did not seem the type who particular enjoyed fighting with people however that did not stop her from having opinions which she voiced when she thought no one was listening.

"I can't believe you heard me say that. You know people usually just ignore me." She said glad that he did not seem angry with her for the comment. She could not quite figure out the Medjai warrior but she was beginning to realize he had many different layers to him, more often than not she was faced with the outer leader of the Medjai who was very serious and tough, she could however see from time to time that there was much more than that to him.

"Perhaps where you were from before, but here you stick out like a sore thumb." He said looking over at the blonde haired woman. He realized for some reason she did not think very highly of herself. He could not really understand why this might be for he could not see too many things about her that were unfavorable.

"Yes, well you can be honest I'm the last person on earth anyone would expect to be a Medjai." She said looking over at him as he seemed to contemplate the best answer.

"Maybe not the last but certainly not very likely, however because of this it will give you an advantage; if people underestimate you they will not think you a threat even if you are one."

"I think I still have a lot more training before I'm a threat to anyone." She said stretching her rather sore arms, even though the training saber was made of wood it was still very heavy. After she said this of course it reminded Ardeth they still had more time to train. After a few more hours of work Virginia was in fact rather tired and Ardeth decided it was time for them to retire for the night.

Once Virginia was back in her room she really wanted to go to bed but she knew there was something else she had to do. She pulled out her medical bag and rummaged through it until she found her journal; she ripped out a blank page and began to write a note on it.

Dear Mr. Bey,

You said I am not a prisoner here so I take that to mean I have the freedom to do what I must. I need to find my brother so I'm going to Cairo to find him and let him know I am safe. I will return after I have done so.

Thank you for your hospitality,

Virginia O'Connell

After she finished the note she placed it on the bed with her medical bag. She had decided to leave it there to show them she meant to return, she after all usually never went anywhere without it. She however after talking with Amar and Ardeth today was beginning to understand the importance of the Medjai, they had not told her many details but whatever they had been protecting all this time must be important and these people saw a sort of greatness in her that she did not see in herself. They were giving her great opportunity and she did not want to seem rude and ignore it, however before she could commit herself fully to training she needed to know that Rick knew she was alright.

Mr. Bey had said she was not allowed to leave the village but now that she knew where Cairo was she could not just sit idly by and not do anything about it. She grabbed her knapsack and a canteen of water and slipped out under the back wall of the tent. Once outside she made her way to the stables. She had wrapped the black headpiece that went with her robes around her head covering her blonde locks and most of her face. If she rode quickly past the guards dressed like this they would think she was just one of their own going for a night ride. She found the black horse that she had become friends with earlier that day and began to saddle him. She was quick with the saddle and was riding off into the desert within minutes, completely undetached.

**I think it is safe to say that Ardeth will not be very happy with her in the next chapter. Anyways hope you liked it, don't forget to review it makes me want to update sooner when I get a lot of reviews **


	3. Cairo

**Sorry it took so long to update, I've been really busy with school and couldn't think of what to write for this next chapter. I finally came up with something here it is.**

Ardeth woke with a start. Something felt wrong but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. He looked outside and noticed that nothing seemed out of the ordinary, it was still early and most people in the village were not awake yet, he then headed over to Virginia's room and went to go and check on her.

"Ms. O'Connell?" he said expecting her to answer like she did the last time. When he was met with silence he paused for a moment before calling her name a second time. When she still did not answer he decided to enter the room anyways. What he noticed was that she appeared to be nowhere to be found. He noticed a note left on the bed next to her medical bag and after reading it he let out a sigh of frustration before heading outside. He had given her too much freedom and she had taken advantage of it, not to mention she had used his own advice against him. He had under estimated her and now he was paying the consequences. From a teaching standpoint he felt slightly proud that she had taken matters into her own hands however at the moment he felt only anger for the fact she had deliberately disobeyed the one rule he had given her.

Now he would have to go out into the desert and find her, he after all had a feeling she had not gotten far, not to mention would probably get lost out there. He went to the stables to fetch his horse when he noticed it too was missing. He let out a few choice words kicking the stable door and cursing the woman who was causing him so much trouble.

"Is everything alright, Ardeth?" Asked Amar who had noticed his friend's outburst.

"Ms. O'Connell left sometime this morning, and she took my horse." He said looking annoyed. "I gave her one, rule, one simple rule and that was she could not leave this place and she especially could not go to Cairo until we could be sure we trusted her."

"She wished to go to Cairo? She asked me about that yesterday." Said Amar looking guilty. "I may have told her where it is in relation to here."

At his friend's admission Ardeth pinched the bridge of his noise and said after letting out a deep breath. "It seems we all under estimated her. Can I borrow your horse, I will ride out to the desert and try and find her."

Although he had managed to remain calm throughout his entire ride to Cairo with every passing day his anger grew, especially since he had not run into her in the desert like he had hoped. He had expected to find her like he had when they first met, expecting her to stop and make camp along the way, it seemed however that she had ridden straight to Cairo and rarely stopped.

He had given her almost total freedom and now he was paying the price for it. In Cairo he went first to the museum hoping his uncle had heard news of Ms. O'Connell. His uncle Dr. Terrence Bey was the curator at the museum of antiquities and was the Medjai's eyes and ears in Cairo. He went straight into his Uncle's office and found his as usual sitting at his desk pouring over a book.

"What has gone wrong this time?" Said his Uncle with a sigh not bothering to look up from his work.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" Snapped Ardeth his patience worn thin from Ms. O'Connell's runaway.

"Because the only time you personally ever come to visit is when something has gone wrong."

"Have you heard anything about a flaxen haired woman, who would have probably entered the city sometime this morning? She was riding a black horse and would be asking around about a man in the French Foreign Legion."

"There is a woman in the library right now who fits some of that description, I was actually think of asking her to be a librarian here, I don't have time to do all that work myself."

"If we are speaking of the same woman, I'm afraid there are bigger plans for her than being a librarian. She bears the sacred mark, and we decided we were going to train her, however she decided to leave the village to look for her brother who is most likely dead." Said Ardeth, and Dr. Bey could sense the irritation in his tone.

"There is an American saying about giving someone too much freedom, I believe it fits this situation perfectly, it seems as though you gave the girl and inch and she took a mile."

"A mistake I will not be making again." Said Ardeth before heading in the library of the museum. Dr. Bey had been right there was a woman in the there who from behind looked a lot like Ms. Connell though he could not be sure. She appeared to be hunched over a book but they way her shoulders shook it suggested she might be crying. He approached the table and went around it so he was now facing her. The woman in question was indeed Virginia O'Connell and she was most certainly crying, over a book that was talking about Ancient Egyptian spells.

"I gave you one rule, one simple rule, and that was you were not to leave the village." He said harshly, part of him felt bad for scolding the already very depressed looking woman but his anger seemed to be getting the better of him at the moment. When she did not respond or even look at him he said. "Do you realize how much of an unconvinced this has been, how behind this will put us on your training that is if you are even still worthy of such a thing…"

He was however interrupted by Virginia yelling "My brother is dead; the one thing in my life that meant something is gone! Don't you realize I have nothing now? Nothing but this scared duty that you say has been given to me." Her outburst then calmed and she said very quietly. "Where else am I going to go anyway?"

As much as he wanted to be angry with her he found it very difficult. She had just come to terms with the fact that the one person in her life she was close to was now dead, and he understood what that felt like having lost his father at such a young age. He realized that it seems what she had said in her note she must have truly meant, after all she did have a point, from what he knew she had no money, and nowhere to call home. He said down at the table beside her and said with a sigh. "I tried to tell you, your brother was most likely gone."

"I know, I just had to know for sure." She said wiping her eyes, for some reason she felt embarrassed having Mr. Bey see her cry. "I said I was coming back, I planned to either way."

"I couldn't be sure, I also didn't know if you would tell anyone of what you had learned."

"Mr. Bey, I realize we don't know each other very well so this may mean very little to you, but my word is good and if I give it to someone I follow through. I will tell no one of the city or it's secrets." She said looking over at him and looking his straight in the eye.

"I believe you." He said actually meaning it. He could see in her eyes that she spoke the truth. "Though I will say that I did underestimate your abilities, you managed to sneak past the village guards and made it all the way to the city rather quickly."

"Yes, well someone once told me it's actually better if people underestimate you because then you have the advantage." She said with a small smile. "I do actually listen to what you are teaching me."

"Speaking of your training, we will stay the night here and then tomorrow we will make our way back to the village and continue your training. We will take out time in returning though, you will need proper time to grieve for your loss, and distractions only work for so long, it is better to come to terms with your loss right away." He said getting up from his seat to give her some time alone. He was about to leave but her words stopped him.

"You seem to be speaking from experience." She said. She noticed he seemed to hesitate as though trying to decide if he wanted to answer the question. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She was actually a bit surprised when the Medjai sat back down at the table. She wasn't sure why he did after all he owed her nothing. She was the one who had run off, stole his horse and was eating up most of his time with her training.

"My father, died when I was barely a man. I had just finished my training and he had gotten involved in a fight protecting the city and he was shot, the wound was fatal and he died a few hours later." He said looking over at the bookshelf in front of them. He had no idea why he was telling her this, he did not have to but he thought maybe it would help her get over her brother's death.

"I'm sorry, for your loss." She said looking down at the book she had been reading. He looked over at the book she was reading. The page was on the book of the dead which was buried somewhere in Hamanaptra and had the power to restore life.

"It's not a good idea. These things happen for a reason even if we do not understand them, it is all part of a greater plan." He said knowing what she must be thinking.

"I don't know how you deal with knowing such a think actually exits and you don't at all feel tempted to use it." She said noticing he was looking at the book as she was.

"I like to think that however made that book, hid it away for a reason and that we should respect their wisdom." He said in his usual almost condescending tone. She noticed for a moment he had shown her another side of him but now he seemed to be once again in the role of her mentor. He always seemed to take the high road and it made her wonder how he managed to resist such temptations. She did not know much about it but Hamanaptra seemed to have many very powerful artifacts hidden away inside of it, along with a great deal of wealth, if they wanted she supposed the Medjai could easily take over the world but they seemed to have no interest in that whatsoever.

After he said this Mr. Bey told her they could stay in his uncle's house and that tomorrow morning they would begin to ride back to the village. He told her to get some rest but despite the fact that she had ridden nearly all day she could not sleep. The grief of her brother's death was still very fresh in her mind. She had found out he was dead from Sully the local bar keep, if anyone knew anything about her brother it would have been Sully because somehow he knew everything about anything in Cairo. After she had realized that Mr. Bey was most likely correct and her brother was in fact dead she had come here to the museum to seek comfort in the many library books, she thought might help her figure out how to deal with his death.

It was after all the first time she had done so, her parents had died when she was so young she didn't even remember them, in fact she didn't even know what they had looked like and knew next to nothing about them. She often wondered what her life would have been like if they were still alive but since the only life she had ever known did the one at the orphanage she never felt bad about not know her parents. She had been a blank slate that had been written on only as her life progressed. In a way she was glad she did not have any emotional attachment to her parents because she was not sure she could take feeling such sadness as she did now all her life. Rick had been everything to her and had been her only guide in life.

Perhaps Mr. Bey was right, everything happened for a reason, for she knew if Rick had been alive there would have been no way in hell he would have let his baby sister live with desert tribesmen, and learn how to use many different weapons and such. Although she loved her brother dearly and rarely disagreed with him she had a feeling she would have about this, for once in her life she actually felt important. Someone wanted her to do something with her life that was so much more than just getting by.

She had somehow managed to get some sleep but not enough to feel well rested when Mr. Bey knocked on the door to the room she had been sleeping in that night. After they made all their preparations they headed off into the desert. They rarely spoke to one another, but as Virginia had come to realize they didn't really have anything to talk about. They were two people who under ordinary circumstances would have probably never spent any time together. They were not the kind of people who would have even offered a greeting to one another had they passed each other on the street. He was from a world of rules where his actions had dire consequences for many people. He was a leader in charge of many people, who looked to him for guidance. She on the other hand, for most of her life had a rather lawless existence. No one really cared what she did for it almost never affected them, she simply was.

Ardeth eventually broke the silence by inquired as to the way she had successfully made her way across the desert. She pointed out to him that she had been a member of the French Foreign Legion and had trekked across the desert before on foot and had learned a thing or two. He realized he had in fact quickly forgotten about the situation in which they had found her. He would have to keep reminding himself that despite her rather fragile appearance this woman was actually much stronger than she let on or even realized. Silence fell between them for awhile again and it was not until they stopped to get the horses so water at a nearby oasis that Virginia spoke again.

"I'm sorry I stole your horse earlier." She said leading the other horse he had given her over to the water.

"I'm surprised he let you ride him. I found him out in the desert a few years ago, he was very afraid of people but I gained his trust and trained him." Said Ardeth petting the nose of the horse in question. "Why did you take me horse?"

At this Virginia just shrugged. "I don't know, he seemed friendly, and I figured it I took your horse it would be harder to you to catch up with me." With a small smile she said "Plus I think he was the only one who knew English commands."

"That reminds me, we will have to teach you how to speak Arabic and ancient Egyptian as well." He said thinking there was certainly a lot he was going to have to teach her.

"My brain is going to explode if you try and cram too much knowledge into it." She mumbled under her breath, realizing just how much she still had to learn. Ardeth had not heard exactly what she had said but he knew she had said something.

"What did you say?" He said and she repeated her statement. He just laughed and said. "I once learned that diamonds are formed from great amounts of pressure beneath the earth. It must not have been very easy for them but in the end they turn out to be rather perfect."

"There's a flaw in your logic how do you know I'm made of the same stuff as diamonds, most ordinary things collapse under pressure." She said looking over at him with interest. She knew he had said before that he thought she would become a good warrior but she had to make sure after her breaking of their only rule if he still thought the same thing.

"I guess we will just have to see won't we?" He said before announcing that they should get moving again. The two of them seemed to be constantly testing one another out and neither one of them seemed to have figured the other out yet.

**Well there you have it another chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to review.**


	4. Not What It Seems

**So I realized I haven't updated this story in like forever and a day, but I recently went to an Egyptian museum and got inspired again! So hopefully people will still read this and review. Enjoy!**

Pressure makes diamonds. However Virginia felt in no way anything close to a diamond. She could not recall a time in her life where she was so sore; she felt pain in places in her body she did not even know she could feel pain. Even her mind was in pain, she was mentally and physically exhausted and that was the only think her brain seemed to be able to process as she lay in bed staring up at the canvas ceiling.

It had only been a week of training and right now she currently taking her rest because it was too hot outside to train. She was given a two hour break every day during her training but despite her exhaustion she did not sleep because she knew if she did she might sleep for days. She could her Ardeth and his mother speaking in Arabic in the other room, she could tell by the tone in her voice that Mrs. Bey was scolding the young warrior and although she knew little Arabic she knew the phrase "the woman" and knew she must be the topic of the argument.

Virginia was already growing rather fond of Mrs. Bey; although the two could not understand each other when they spoke they seemed communicate well in their own strange way. On particularly hot days after her training Mrs. Bey would bring Virginia a cool cloth to help her cool down , she also taught her how to tie her hair back in a more effective manner helping to keep it out of her face better during training. Virginia repaid these favors by helping out in the kitchen whenever she could no matter how tired she was. She found that the less she sat still the less she noticed she was exhausted.

As she listened to mother and son argue some more she felt her eyes growing heavy and despite her will to keep them open she was soon fast asleep.

When she woke she realized it was much later in the day than it was supposed to be and she wondered why Ardeth had not woken her like he usually did. She went out into the main room to find him sitting on one of the cushions reading a book.

"I've over slept, why did you not wake me?"

"My mother convinced me you were in need of rest; it seems she was correct for you have lost a day." He said looking at her with concern.

"I slept for a whole day?" She said in disbelief.

"Yes, why did you not tell me you needed more rest?"

"I didn't want to disappoint anyone by seeming weak. I mean this is the kind of training every goes through."

"Everyone goes through training but it is over many years. I admit perhaps I was trying too hard to make up for lost time and in doing so have set standards that are too difficult to adhere to."

"Please I've rested now, I can do it. It was not too difficult." She said not wanting him to lower his standards for her. She had discovered a kind of new determination she didn't know she had. Usually when the going got tough Rick would always have them quit while they were ahead, she realized now how much this had bothered her. How was she to ever know her true potential if she did not try and test her limits?

At this Ardeth, just smiled feeling rather proud of his student's determination. He could tell she had been stretched to the limits these past few days, when she thought he was not looking her noticed she would show her fatigue but if not she had her face set in a look of concentration. "Virginia, even I will admit to enjoying this time of rest after this past week."

She just nodded her head realizing he was not the type of man to who usually admitted his limits but at least he knew them. She knew he had only told her this because he didn't want her to feel like she had failed him. It was also at this time that she realized she had nothing to do now that they were taking the whole day off.

She decided to go and wander around the village because she wasn't tired anymore and didn't know what else to do. People no longer stared at her this made walking more pleasant now; they were used to her strange appearance and didn't pay her as much mind. As she walked down the street she realized just how alone she was here, she couldn't communicate with anyone, didn't know much about their culture, in time she would become a part of their community but she still had a long way to go. She walked for a long time until her feet eventually carried her to the stables where she went to check on her horse.

While most of the horses in the stable were a black or dark brown color, Virginia's horse was more of a dune color and stood out just as much as she did. It had been the reason she had picked it in the first place because she felt a connection to it since they both stood out here.

"Praise Allah she lives." Said voice behind her and she turned to face Amar who was pretty much the only other person she ever conversed with.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She said with a smile.

"Exactly what it sounds like. I was beginning to think Ardeth had worked you to death."

"No I think he mother told him not to." She said turning her attention back to the horse and stroking its nose.

"Yes, he told me." Said Amar with a smile. "You know he was testing you right?"

When Virginia turned and faced him with a puzzled expression he clarified. "I think he was waiting for you to say it was too difficult. I think he was rather surprised you didn't. He is proud of you even if he does not tell you so."

"Thanks." She said not really sure what else to say. She was glad Amar had told her this, Ardeth was a difficult man to read but Amar knew him well.

Amar just nodded before saddling his horse and leaving on some mission he could not tell her much about. After the left Virginia realized that she might just go for a short ride around the outer edge of the village. She began to saddle her horse when someone behind her spoke.

"Hopefully you are not running away this time."

She turned to see her mentor Ardeth standing in the doorway watching her saddle her horse.

"No merely going for a short ride." She said continuing with her work.

"Good, I would not want to have to chase you all the way to Cairo again."

"Do you want to come with me?" She asked. Truth be told she wanted the company, she had always been so used to being around other people she didn't like to be alone very much, even if they never really talked much just having Ardeth around was a comfort to her.

"Alright." He said saddling his horse as well. He realized from spending so much of the day being idle he was rather restless and the thought of a ride in the desert seemed very enticing. Once they were both on their horses they rode off into the distance. Neither one of them knew which one was leading and because of it they ended up just going where their feet took them. This placed turned out to be the edge of a cliff that looked down at the city of Hamanaptra.

Virginia got off her horse so she could walk closer to the edge looking down at the city below. "So this is what all the fuss is about?"

"It holds many secrets." Said Ardeth getting off his horse as well.

"If they are so dangerous why have them in the first place?"

"They were created for a reason, and even if that reason is unclear to us now we must keep them safe."

"I suppose it's a matter of balance. There must be evil in the world otherwise we would never know good." Said Virginia still looking at the city. She had not learned much about it but what she did know had made her understand that the city held a great evil one that should never be awakened.

"I would prefer it if more knew of good than of evil."

"I like to think most do. My whole life I've relayed upon the kindness of others I am grateful for all who have helped me. I could have very easily spent my entire life on the street."

"Yes but it has also made you doubt yourself greatly, you are more capable of taking care of yourself than you realize."

"Perhaps, but I have learned that at some point we all need someone in our lives to help us."

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After her day of rest Virginia's training resumed once again but was less grueling than it was before. With each day she was improving her skills and after a month's time she could at least have short conversations with some of the people in the village. She was adjusting to her new life rather well. She had just had her afternoon rest and knew they would not be able to train until dark, so she went to the stables to visit her horse like she often did when she was bored.

She noticed Amar had just returned from a mission and had a bloody bandage loosely tied around his arm.

"Are you alright?" She asked with concern.

"I am fine, the wound looked angry but I think I have patched it up so it will heal with time." He said with a weak smile, she could tell the cut still pained him. She told him to wait for a moment and returned with her medical kit. She asked for permission to see the wound and he obliged.

He was right the wound was a rather deep cut, he had stitched it together well but it still looked very painful. She reached into her medical bag and pulled out a jar of homemade salve.

"What is that?" Asked Amar as she used a cloth to spread it over the wound.

"A salve, I made it myself from some natural ingredients." She explained. "My brother used to call it magic goop." She said with a small smile at the fond memory.

Amar just nodded and peered over at the bag that she kept her supplies in. He studied it with interest. "That looks more like a spice cabinet than a medical bag; you favor old methods of healing?"

"Yes, they have always come more naturally to me. However from what I have read nowadays we have made great leaps and bounds in our practice of medicine."

"So I have heard. Thank you for your help." He said with a smile before heading off to his home.

Virginia noticed the sun was beginning to go down, which meant she should probably head over to her home as well. She realized she had thought of the tent as home now, and this thought seemed to comfort her greatly. When she entered the main room she expected to see Ardeth standing there with whatever weapon she would be training with today, instead she found him and his mother arguing over something. She bit her lip to keep from smiling, she always found it amusing to see Mrs. Bey scolding Ardeth he was an important man and not many questioned his judgment but his mother always seemed to give him a piece of her mind.

Eventually Ardeth threw up his hands in frustration called his mother a stubborn woman and turned to leave almost running into Virginia. After the almost collision he seemed to calm down and said "My mother is going to find you something to wear for the festival tonight."

"What festival?" She said looking confused.

"I didn't tell you about the Festival of Sokar?"

"You had me read five books on Ancient Egyptian festivals; I think that was one of them." Said Virginia trying to piece together the information.

"Yes, well it's today and my people celebrate all the ancient festivals. My mother and I were discussing what you should wear; I was saying you should wear the clothes of a warrior in training she said you should be allowed to dress like a woman. She will be helping you get ready and I have to leave, even thought this is my house." He said sounding annoyed about the last bit of information.

The moment he left Virginia was ushered by Mrs. Bey into a part of the tent she had never been before. She had a feeling this might be Mrs. Bey's room, already in the room where a few women from the village Virginia had seen before when she helped out in the kitchen. In the best way they could they all attempted to communicate with her. Most of the women were fascinated by her light hair and each of them wanted to touch it before Mrs. Bey began style it. Then some of the women began to put makeup on her, she could pick up bits and pieces of the conversations.

Some were complaining about their husbands, others were talking about how they wished they had eyes as blue as hers, and other were gossiping about news in the village. She realized that even though she was in a completely different culture some things never seemed to change. She was given a dark blue skirt and some robes to wear with a matching headscarf and a sheer veil that covered the bottom half of her face. Once they were satisfied with their work most of the women left saying goodbye to Mrs. Bey before leaving the tent.

Mrs. Bey led her over to a cloth cover mirror, she pulled back the cloth so that Virginia could finally see what had been hours of work. She realized in her entire life she had never wore anything so fine or looked so beautiful.

"Thank you." She said in Arabic when she turned to face Mrs. Bey.

"I told him this would be better." Responded Mrs. Bey with a smug smile. Virginia just laughed and followed Mrs. Bey outside where most of the things for the festival had already been set up.

From what she remembered Virginia knew the festival of Sokar had to do with the Egyptian god Osiris who was lord of the underworld. Mrs. Bey ushered her around the festival mostly to show off her own handwork but she did so with a very motherly pride. Virginia mostly smiled politely and attempted to greet everyone with the proper Arabic greetings. Eventually Mrs. Bey left her alone and Ardeth came over to check on her.

"I have never seen you look so frighten." He said once he was closer to her. He found the fact that she was more frighten of a party than the deadly weapons he was often swinging at her during her training amusing.

"I accidently called someone's mother a donkey and I just realized most of the Arabic words I know have to do with Medjai secrets, fighting, or horses." She said with a sigh of frustration. "I should try and learn more during my rest periods, I should ask Amar to teach me when he's not busy."

"If you don't rest during your rest period my mother is going to kill me." He said with shaking his head. He noticed she was so determined to learn everything as quickly as she could and grew frustrated when she did not understand it quickly.

"You are the chief of the Medjai, and yet she is the only one who bosses you around." She said with a smirk.

"Yes, but I was her son first, and that is what she will always think of me as." Said Ardeth. Now that he knew she was doing okay he had duties to perform and went to talk with some other people in the village. Virginia was alone for less than a second when she felt someone grab her by the arm and pulled her off to the side of the main celebration. She had turned to face what she thought was an attacker to find Amar looking at her with a wary expression.

"Amar, what is the matter?" She said with concern.

"This." He said unwrapping his bandage to reveal that the cut had almost completely healed.

"Yes, it's the salve, it works very quickly. I don't see how that is a problem." She said confused.

"Who did you get it from? Someone must have given it to you!" He said in a harsh whisper. In truth her remembered her saying she had made it herself but now he was hoping otherwise, there was hardly anyone still alive who possessed such knowledge to make a salve as effective as this one.

"No, I made it. Amar, what's going on? Why are you so angry with me, I've healed your arm."

"Exactly, far too quickly!" He said clenching his hands into fists. He saw how confused and hurt she looked and this seemed to calm him down slightly. He let out a sigh as though the fact that his arm had healed so quickly was troubling to him. "You must tell no one of this and do not heal anyone else. Do you understand?"

"Why?"

"Especially Ardeth, he should not have to face this. We must not tell him." Said Amar sternly. He felt uncomfortable about keeping such information from his best friend and leader but he had grown rather fond of the girl and perhaps it clouded his judgment but he thought this was for the best, even if it made him uncomfortable. He also knew that Ardeth was rather proud and fond of his pupil and he would hate for him to have to deal with the knowledge of who Virginia might have been and what actions would need to be taken because of it.

"Why not? I haven't done anything wrong have I all I have done is help you!" She said annoyed at him for being so cryptic.

"Yes, with your salve, but tell me Virginia how do you know how to make it? How do you know of such old medicine?"

"I…I don't know, I'm pretty sure I read about it in books." Said Virginia though she could not recall which books off the top of her head. Her healing had always come so naturally to her, in fact it was one of the only things she was actually good at.

"Perhaps, in which case we have nothing to worry about. But as a precaution, just promise me, you will not speak of this to anyone?" Said Amar with a sigh.

"Alright…" She said not really sure she was making a promise she could keep.

"Just remember, sometimes we get the chance to make our own destinies, the past shapes us but it is our choices that define us." He said putting a hand on her shoulder and looking her straight in the eye.

"Can you at least tell me why I cannot speak of this?"

"Some things are best left forgotten." He said before leaving to join the rest of the festival leaving Virginia alone with her confusion and questions. She could tell something she had done had upset him she just couldn't understand why. She was beginning to think she would never understand all the secrets the Medjai kept. She stood were Amar had left her away from most of the conversations and people at the festival. As she stood there she began to wonder if perhaps it was her destiny to be the outsider, wanting to be a part of something but never truly fitting in. She didn't mind it so much when Rick was around but now she realized just how alone she was.

Ardeth eventually made his way back over to her. Every time she thought she was alone he was there to remind her that if she worked at it, she could be a part of something and his presence was always a comfort to her. He dragged her over to a group of her fellow warriors, at first she wondered why he had done this, after all she was dressed like all the other woman and should be talking with them about whatever it was they were talking about. Then she realized here she could talk about horse, stuff to do with the Medjai and fighting, the few things she knew she could speak about in Arabic. Perhaps she had a place after all, she thought with a smile looking over at her mentor for a moment before turning her attention back to the converstation.

While she conversed with some of the men Ardeth studied her new appearance. It felt strange to him to see her in this way; he realized that although he knew she was a woman once he had started training her he didn't seem to think about her as a woman. For example when his mother had suggested that Virginia dress in more traditional woman's clothing his first reaction was that such a suggestion was absurd. As he looked at her now however he realized she was actually quite beautiful and had overheard many of the people at the festival say so, once this thought occurred however he quickly dismissed it. Many things in this world were beautiful, it didn't matter that Virginia was beautiful, she was going to be a warrior and from what he had seen so far she was going to be a rather good one.

**So yeah review please and hopefully I will have another update for you all soon! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Tests

**Well I've finally found some time to update. Sorry it's been taking so long. This chapter is on the shorter side because it seemed like a good place to end the chapter and I hope to update again soon. Anyways, enjoy!**

Virginia felt like she was going to be sick she was so nervous. After months and months of training Ardeth had finally decided she was ready to go on her first mission. It was nothing too big just some treasure hunters who had stolen some precious artifacts that needed to be returned. Virginia was merely supposed to sneak into their hotel room, recover the artifacts and leave.

It was not the sort of mission Ardeth would usually send one of his men on but they were trying to tailor Virginia for different tasks than that of most of the Medjai. A white woman wandering around a British hotel would not warrant any questioning. She was dressed in western style clothing a white blouse and khaki skirt with a dagger hidden in her boot. The fabric made her feel stuffy, it was stiff and uncomfortable and seemed to mirror the way she felt right now.

She knew Ardeth and some of the other Medjai were watching from a safe location in case anything went wrong, and this thought comforted her slightly but she could still feel her heart pounding in her chest.

When she entered the room she spotted the artifact rather easily, it was a scarab broach that belong to some ancient pharaoh. It wasn't anything powerful or even extremely valuable after all in case she failed Ardeth didn't want to risk anything important. He however had much faith in her that she would succeed.

She had just grabbed the broach when suddenly the door opened and a man from the front desk looked at her with a confused expression. She quickly hid the broach behind her back.

"I have a message for a Mr. Andrews?"

"Oh, Mr. Andrews? Silly me I must have wandered into the wrong room. I do have a terrible sense of direction." She said explaining herself. However she was not looking over at the man when she talked but rather some very old looking scrolls. She also had a feeling they did not belong to this Mr. Andrews. "I'd better just grab the rest of my stuff." She said heading over to the scrolls to take them. No sooner did she have them in her hands did Mr. Andrews arrive back to his room.

"Just what do you this your are doing!" He said looking over at her. He was an older man with graying hair and a red blotchy face. Virginia tried her best not to look like a deer in the headlights but her mind had gone completely blank. Luckily the man from the front desk said something. "She wandered into the wrong room sir, she was just leaving. I have a message…"

"Well she sure as hell isn't going to leave with my scrolls, what kind of security do you have in this place!" Said Mr. Andrews obviously outraged. Virginia tired to leave with the scrolls by quickly pushing past him and out the door. Mr. Andrews who was surprisingly strong for his old age grabbed her by the arm in an attempt to stop her. She stomped on his foot and elbowed him in the gut causing him to let go as she quickly ran down the hall. Mr. Andrews may have been strong but he was hardly fast and she easily lost him once she was out in the streets of Cairo.

Once she was sure she was gone she went to the museum to meet Ardeth and the rest of the Medjai who were waiting for her. She was rather surprised however to see Mr. Andrews standing amongst them talking with the curator of the museum.

"What..." Said Virginia looking over at Mr. Andrews and then back and Ardeth who had stepped forward to greet her.

"I didn't know either." He explained looking over at Mr. Andrews as well. "It seemed we were all being tested today."

"You did well my dear." Said the curator coming over to join in the conversation.

"You may have taught her to hit a little too well though." Said Mr. Andrews, if that was in fact his real name, to Ardeth.

"Apparently the village elders wanted to see how well you were in all aspects, rather than just see how well you could sneak around a building, they wanted to see if you could handle yourself under pressure as well as recognize other valuable artifacts." Explained Ardeth.

"I surprised myself at how quickly I reacted when Mr. Andrews walked into the room I thought for sure that someone would have to come in and help me."

"As I am always telling you, you have strong legs you are more than capable of standing on them yourself." Said Ardeth.

"Yes, I realize that." She said with a smile and she felt herself fill with pride knowing she had accomplished something great. She had passed the test they had given her; though she had a feeling it would not be her last.

Later that evening when Virginia had retired to her room. Ardeth stayed up standing on the balcony of his room looking down at the hotel she had completed her mission in just hours before. He heard someone approach and turned to see Amar coming out to join him.

"Virginia did well today."

"Yes, she did, as I knew she would." Said Ardeth with a nod.

"You may have been able to fool the others my friend but I know you too well. You were a nervous wreck when she had to confront Mr. Andrews." He said with a smile.

"She is the best student I have ever trained; I just did not want to see her fail. She had worked too hard for this."

"I know." Said Amar in a strange tone. Ardeth looked at his friend and could tell he was struggling with something. He noticed Amar often go this way whenever they talked about Virginia.

"Amar something has been troubling you, please tell me."

Amar let out a sigh. "I know you are fond of her and it is difficult for me to tell you this for I am fond of her too. It may be nothing but…She has as gift for healing."

"There are many gifted healers, Amar." Said Ardeth thought he felt a tinge of worry.

"Not like this, she knew the old ways, maybe someone taught her. I told her to stop; it could just be she knows healing but if she knows more…"

"Then we might have a problem." Said Ardeth knowing why his friend had hesitated to tell him. This put him in a very difficult situation. He would like to think Virginia's healing abilities were nothing but if she had other abilities then they could be in grave danger. If Virginia could conjure the elements then that would mean she was not what she seemed. "And you have spoken of this to no one?"

"Apart from Virginia no one. I thought you should be the first to know."

Ardeth just nodded and said "You are right, it's probably nothing." Deep down however he had a feeling this was not the case but he would just keep an eye on her and hopefully if they did their jobs correctly the creature would never awaken and certain events would not be triggered.

Meanwhile Virginia was in her room pacing about because she could not sleep. She was still too riled up from the adrenaline boost earlier in the day. Ever since they had stopped training as regularly Virginia realized she had no idea what to do with her idle time. Perhaps some of Ardeth's restlessness had rubbed off on her. Usually she would help Mrs. Bey in the kitchen but at the moment she was very far away from the comforting kitchen and motherly advice Mrs. Bey always seemed to offer to her.

She ventured down in the museum below and into the library figuring that she would read from some of the volumes of books she had seen down there. She was expecting the place to be empty but instead she found a rather meek looking woman peering at the ancient scrolls by the dim light of a small lamp. The woman of course did not notice Virginia until she was standing directly over her.

"Interesting read?" Virginia asked causing the woman to jump and look at her with a rather panicked expression.

"Oh goodness, I'm sorry, I didn't realize, I know I'm not supposed to be reading these." She said shakily pushing her glasses up higher onto her nose.

"Yes, well just promise not to tell anyone what you have learned." Said Virginia coming around to the woman's side of the table to look over at the scrolls. She had only glanced at them before only getting snippets of various words that looked important. Now that she was getting a better look at them she could see they were some kind of ancient spells.

"It is quite fascinating though. I mean there scrolls are very old and yet here we are actually reading them. I mean these are scared spells people probably haven't seen in thousands of years…" The woman began to babble on about the importance of spells in ancient times and things like that but Virginia wasn't really listening instead she was reading a particular spell and how to perform it. For some reason she was compelled to try it, she looked a book on the shelf and focused on it before saying the incantation. The woman let out a scream as one of the scrolls on the table suddenly burst into flames.

Both of them quickly threw it on the floor and began to stomp the flames out. The woman looked over at Virginia in shock and said "Did you do that?"

"No I didn't." She said also in shock, there was no way the spell actually worked. Not to mention she had a feeling this was yet another thing she should not tell anyone else about.

"I heard you say the incantation for fire and then this happened." She said looking over at Virginia with a wide eyed expression. "You realize that no one has been able to do anything like that since ancient times. I mean I've read a lot about ancient priests and sorcerers performing miracles but I always thought it was just a load of hokum."

"Look it is. I don't know what you thought you saw but maybe the paper just caught flame from the heat or something." She said denying that it had even happened. "I should go."

"Wait, maybe you can do other things too. I mean it was said that a very select few had control over the elements. The library is full of books on this stuff, I mean I know this place like the back of my hand I could help you. It might be useful to you with whatever it is you and those men are doing."

"I don't think I'm supposed to dabble in things like this." Said Virginia remember how freaked out Amar had been when she used ancient healing.

"Well if you change your mind you can always come back here. I'm Evelyn Carnahan, I'm the librarian here." Said the woman with a smile. Virginia just nodded before heading up to her room still not convinced she had actually caused what she did. She wanted to try it again but had a feeling this was not the kind of thing she should be messing around with blindly. Perhaps she would take the woman up of her offer. During her idle time she could study information on spells for she could imagine that they would be rather useful in her line of work.

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After their mission was completed they returned back to the village. The minute Virginia got home went into the kitchen to find Mrs. Bey making bread along with a few other woman from the village.

"I knew you would do well." She said with a smile when Virginia entered the room.

"How did you know I was going to say I did well?" Said Virginia looking confused.

"My child I know everything." Said Mrs. Bey with a smug smile.

"That and you wear every emotion you feel on your face." Said Asa a woman who was only a few years older than Virginia. Now that Virginia was basically fluent in Arabic she could converse with almost anyone in the village. Most of the time she stuck to the small circle of women that always seemed to gather in Mrs. Bey's kitchen or her fellow warriors. When she was with these people she felt at home and you would almost think she was one of them except for the fact that her flaxen hair made her stand out in the crowd of dark haired individuals.

"At least then you always know what I'm thinking." Said Virginia with a laugh.

"Unlike me son. He was such a happy child, I don't know when he became so serious." Said Mrs. Bey with a sigh. "Notice he did not even come to greet me. The only time I see him in here is when he pokes his head in to tell you that you need to train."

"At first I thought he was trying to kill her." Said Maysa, Asa's mother.

"I did fine." Said Virginia with a shrug.

"She had a strong spirit." Said Mrs. Bey with a sort of motherly pride.

"Virginia if you're in there, I need to discuss a few things with you." Said Ardeth's voice from the other side of the tent.

"One that is constantly being tested." Said Virginia with a sigh before heading out to greet Ardeth.

They headed to the stables and took the horse out for one of their evening rides they often took when Ardeth wanted to quiz her on some of the studies or wanted to discuss some kind of strategy to her. Today's topic was basically everything she could have done better during her test a few days ago. Their ride ended where it usually did, the cliff that looked down at the city of Hamanaptra. They sat in silence for awhile until Virginia finally summoned enough courage to speak.

"Can I tell you something?" She said looking over at her mentor.

"Yes, you may." He said looking over at her as well.

"Your mother often complains that you do not greet her when you come home. I can tell she worries about you greatly, I just think it might be nice to, at least acknowledge her." She said tentatively, she knew saying something like that to him was overstepping her boundaries slightly.

Ardeth let out a sigh and said "She worries far too much for her own good. She thinks I'm going to end up like my father, but his death was a noble one, he was protecting our people."

"From what I heard her say about him he seemed like a great man." Said Virginia.

"He was which was why I felt so guilty for being angry with him when he died. I was only a child and left to carry what felt like the weight of the world." Said Ardeth, he didn't know why he was telling her this; it just felt nice to talk to someone about it. Thought he often found himself telling Virginia things she didn't really need to know about him, probably because she just listened, she didn't try to find a way to solve his problems or tell him her own. He felt as though he was always dealing with other people's problems which made his own always seem less important and they were often pushed to the side.

"Well he kind of did. I mean if the creature ever were to be unleashed it kind of becomes the whole world's problem." She said nodding in understanding. After this silence fell between them again but Virginia felt as though every time she went on these rides with him she got yet another piece of the puzzle that was Ardeth Bey her mentor and perhaps even her friend.

**I haven't told you want the Medjai are worried about with Virginia for a reason, don't worry I do have a plan for all of this and you will find out soon. Also I know you just met Evy but you have to remember this is still like two years before The Mummy movie even starts, we will have some more chapters of this before we get to the events of the movie. Also don't forget to review I love to hear feedback from you guys.**


	6. Mistakes

**Wow so it's been like forever since I've updated this story. Mostly because I started working on a Resident Evil story after I hit a bit of a wall with this one. However, I had some inspiration to write for this story again after going to London and looked at some ancient Egyptian artifacts. So here is a new chapter for this story, hope you like it. **

Even though Virginia knew she wasn't supposed to she couldn't help but try and recreate the event that happened the library with the scroll and the fire. However, she had promised Ardeth and Amar that she wouldn't do anything with ancient arts. She couldn't understand why they were so weary of the subject, but she felt guilty for wanting to practice them. She felt as though she was betraying their trust, and yet her curiosity was getting the better of her.

It had been three months since the night in the library and she had been back in the village training constantly since then. When she had free time she would ride out into the desert to a secluded oasis she had found to practice the incarnation, or at least what she could remember it being like. Yet try as she might she was unable to make anything set on fire. Perhaps she had just imagined that the incarnation had actually worked, after all it was rather late in the evening.

She sat on a nearby sand dune and stared down at a shrub that was beside the pool of water. She focused on the shrub willing it to combust but was unable to make anything happen. She was so focused she didn't even hear Ardeth approach.

"Is something troubling you?" He asked, standing beside her and looking down at her with concern.

"What?" she said his voice jarring her out of her thoughts. "No, just thinking."

"I hope you are not worried about meeting the other Medjai tribe leaders." He said noticing from her vacant expression she was still miles away.

"That's today?" She panicked. She had remembered earlier on in the week when Ardeth had mentioned they some of them were coming to see her she hadn't realized this day would be upon them so soon. She didn't want to disappoint anyone, and even though she had done well on her first mission about a week ago, she wasn't sure she was familiar enough with their way to life. Her Arabic still needed a work and sometime she would mispronounce something in a way that would often cause Amar to tease her. Ardeth always made a point to scold him for it, but Virginia knew it was only in jest.

"Yes, there is a meeting of the twelve tribes today. I will introduce you to them when the meeting has ended."

"Why do they want to see me? Do they do this with all the new warriors?"

"There has not been a female Medjai warrior in over ten thousand years and she was a very special case. Do not worry you are diligent in your training and have passed every test given to you thus far, I do not expect you to fail in this task." He reassured. He knew Virginia was often worried about disappointing him and he wanted her to know he believe in her.

"How can you be so certain that I will not fail?" She said with a sigh. She looked over at the shrub she had been trying to set on fire moments ago. For some reason she felt compelled to keep trying that spell and the fact that she could not recreate the event was troubling to her for some reason.

"Come with me," he said reaching out a hand to help her up. She accepted but her brow was knitted in confusion, because she did not know where he would lead her. They walked until a few paces before they stopped and stood looking out at the vast desert stretching out before them. "I want you to tell me what you see."

"I see the desert."

"Yes, and all the way to the east is Cairo, nearly 2 days ride from here. If I recall you made that journey in a day to try and find your brother. The journey people take in life tells a great deal about a person. Your journey tells me that you care a great deal for people and that you are tenacious. You do not quit and that is why I know you will not fail."

"Then I will do my best not to disappoint you," she said looking over at the warrior that stood beside her. He looked out at the desert, scanning the distance with his piercing gaze. Sometimes she felt as though his eyes could look right into a person's soul. They stood there for some time just looking out at the desert before Ardeth told her he must return to greet the twelve tribe leaders.

A while after he left, Virginia returned home and decided it would be best for her to change into a fresh pair of robs. After all she wanted to look her best for the twelve tribal leaders. Once she had changed she entered the kitchen to speak with Ardeth's mother, she thought the distraction would help to calm her nerves.

"Is there anything I can help with?" she asked when she entered the kitchen.

"Mind the soup, keep stirring it and add spices as needed," She ordered not looking up from the dough she needed. "You will do fine today, dear."

"I just don't understand why they want to meet me."

"Woman are rarely chosen to be members of the Medjai."

"Yes, Ardeth was telling me, the last one was over ten thousand years ago."

"Yes…she was, if I remember correctly she was a very powerful healer and she controlled the four elements."

"The four elements?"

"Yes, earth, fire, water, and wind. Such abilities are rare, many believe they do not actually exist," She said turning her attention to some bread she was making.

"Virginia," Ardeth called from the other side of tent. "They will see you now."

"Breathe, dear everything is going to be fine," Mrs. Bey said as Virginia let out a sigh she didn't even realize she had been holding. The other leaders of the twelve tribes were a mysterious force to her, they held a great deal of power and yet she knew next to nothing about them. She followed Ardeth into the tent were the council of the Village Elders often met and she lowered her head in respect to the other tribal leaders.

They were older than she expected for she had just assumed that they would all be around Ardeth's age. In noticing this she felt a greater respect for him seeing as he was in charge of men at least 15 years his senior.

"You have a very pale complexion, are you British then?" Asked one of the leaders after scrutinizing her for a moment.

"I'm not sure." She said knitting her brow in thought. From what she knew she was born here in Egypt so she supposed technically that made her Egyptian but her heritage was certainly of some European or American decedent.

"It is important to know one's past." Said one of the other leaders in a manner that almost seemed to scold her.

"I don't believe it matters how I can to be here but rather how I complete my journey that matters." She firmly replied. The leader seemed satisfied with her answer and nodded his head before sitting back further in his seat. "Well we have heard great things of your training, and you have our permission to continue on your journey."

Ardeth stayed behind to speak with some of the other Medjai leaders while Virginia headed over to the stables to tend to her horse. She had decided to name him Kasim which mean divided because of his light coloring he stood out from all the other horse. She found that visiting Kasim helped to calm her nerves, even thought things had gone well today she had been mentally prepared for the worst so all of the pent up worry was still there.

She began to brush Kasim's mane all the while thinking about her meeting with the other tribal leaders, Ardeth's mother had mentioned that the last female Medjai had been able to control the four elements. Her mind wandered again to the library and the flame that had started on the table. For a moment she thought about at least mentioning it to Ardeth, maybe it would be useful to her training. She shook her head at the notion, it was silly that she was even considering it. She was unsuccessful in creating fire again. For all she knew it could have just been her mind playing tricks on her.

"I thought I might find you here," Said Amar who had entered the stables as well.

"And what made you think that?" She asked with a small smile.

"Virginia, you are always either with that horse of Ardeth," He said with a laugh.

"That's because I'm always training." She continued to brush Kasim's mane but looked over towards the tent where Ardeth and the other tribe leaders were. She had though Ardeth said he would introduce her at the end of the meeting so she wondered what they were still talking about.

"I'm sure he will be out soon, thought I must admit I am a little insulted that you do not find my company to be satisfying enough," Amar jested with a slightly wounded expression.

Virginia rolled her eyes, "You know that is not true, you are one of my only friends here Amar. I just want to know how I did."

"You already know the answer. Ardeth thinks very highly of you, just the other day he told me you were his best pupil."

"He said that?"

"Yes, why would I lie?"

"I know. He's just so difficult to read it's not fair. He can just look at me and it's like he knows exactly what I'm thinking."

Amar was about to respond when he noticed Ardeth walking towards them. Amar had known Ardeth since they were boys and he could read the Medjai leader quite well. Ardeth's shoulders were tense and his expression was blank but by the briskness of his stride, Amar could tell something was angering his friend.

"I need you both to pack your things we are heading to Cairo," He said quickly as he looked to both Amar and Virginia.

"Right now?" she asked putting down the brush and turning her full attention to Ardeth.

"Is something wrong, my friend?" Amar asked with concern.

"That is where the council believes it would be best for Virginia to continue her training." Judging by the way that Ardeth seemed to spit out these words it was clear that he was unhappy with the decision. "You will be staying in an apartment near my Uncle's museum. A woman who works for him will be living there as well and will be informed of this before we arrive. Amar and I will then return to the village. We will check on your progress from time to time."

"Wait, you're not longer going to be training me? Have I…done something wrong?"

"No, but after much deliberation we have decided it would be best for my Uncle to train you."

"I see…" She replied looking down at her feet. Even though he said she had not done something wrong she felt as though she was being punished. He was making her leave, what had quickly become her home and although she was used to moving around a lot she had grown fond of the idea of staying in one place for awhile. At first she was going to just accept what he had told her and head back to the house to pack but something inside her seemed to rise up, she was a Medjai warrior, and she deserved the respect of a proper answer. "If I haven't done anything wrong then why am I being sent away from my home, and all of my friends?"

Ardeth let out a sigh and stroked his beard; he did not look at her but simply replied, "Because I was being foolish. Just because our tribe has adopted a more western lifestyle does not mean there are certain matters that should be respected."

Virginia was confused by this response but Amar seemed outraged. "But she has the sacred mark, surly they did not object to her training here because she is a woman and a foreigner."

"No, the objected to an unmarried woman spending a great deal of time alone with an unmarried man. I imagine they were even more concerned after they saw her."

"They aren't suggesting that you tired to take advantage of me are they? Because it that is the case I can tell them…" Virginia began to hastily reply before Ardeth held up a hand to stop her.

"They do not question my word on the matter. It never even occurred to me how this would look to an outsider, but I can understand where they are coming from. I think, taking you to Cairo is the best solution, and thankfully this matter was resolved in an honorable manner." Ardeth began to saddle his horse and Amar started to do the same.

Virginia however stood in the stable beside her horse but made no effort to prepare for her departure. Virginia usually followed Ardeth's advice but she felt like she was being punished for something that was not her fault. "But I don't want to go to Cairo."

Ardeth stopped saddling his horse and turned to face her, "Unfortunately, this isn't about what anyone wants, it's about doing what is best for everyone."

"I think, what Ardeth is trying to say it that no one here wants you to leave, Virginia. However the circumstances are not in our favor. If anyone were ever to accuse you or Ardeth of behaving in a disrespectable manner the consequences would be very grave for both of you." Amar explained with a sigh.

Virginia nodded. "I see, well I will just have to go and pack my things then."

It had never really occurred to her how different the other Medjai tribal leaders would be compared to Ardeth but it was clear that Ardeth's tribe followed more Western traditions. During her free time she had read a few books on Arabic traditions and although she did not agree with some of them she understood they were just different than what she was used to.

She as she packed her things all the while explaining to Mrs. Bey why she was leaving she felt as though she was leaving her home. She had always lived a rather rambling life, never staying in one place for very long and became attracted to the idea of making this her home. Now, it seemed as though Cairo would be her new home. Mrs. Bey hugged her goodbye and tried to load down her bag with more bread and spices then she would need for such a sort journey. Virginia took them anyway knowing this was Mrs. Bey's way of showing she cared for her.

Virginia was surprised how quickly they were ready to leave the village; though she had a feeling Ardeth's haste was because he wanted to fix his mistake as soon as possible. After having him as a teacher for these past few months she had come to realize that he could sometimes be a bit of a perfectionist and a mistake such as this would be hard on him.

As they rode away from the village Virginia paused for a moment and glanced back at the collect of tents. She hadn't even noticed that Amar had stopped beside her as well, "You know the Medjai are a migratory people, try to think of this journey as just another migration before you are home again."

"Yes, I suppose…" She said quietly. She looked ahead and noticed that Ardeth was riding quite a distance away from the two of them. She and Amar rode in silence for a few miles and when they stopped at a well to get some water Virginia decided to try and talk to Ardeth who was giving water to his horse but appeared to be deep in thought.

"This isn't your fault you know."

"Yes, it was, I wasn't thinking clearly." He said not looking up from his task as he spoke.

"Well there is no use blaming yourself for your mistakes you can only learn from them." She sternly replied, "You told me that once when I couldn't learn to block properly."

"She has a point my friend." Said Amar who decided to join the conversation as well.

"You forget that as a leader my mistakes weigh heavier on my conscience. My decisions do not only effect myself but the whole tribe."

"True, but Allah has a plan for us and we may not understand why yet but these things happen for a reason," Amar sagely replied.

"My brother used to say God, and stuff like that was all a load of hooey," Said Virginia with a small smile. A memory had come to mind of a time when a missionary had tried to talk to Rick while he was in a bar and Rick had shoved the man's bible back at him.

"And what do you think?" Amar asked with curiosity.

"I don't know," Said Virginia with a shrug. "It would be nice to think that everything happens for a reason, but after the Great War I just can't understand how people can act like that."

"We may never know and perhaps it is best to leave it at that," Said Ardeth getting back on his horse. "We have a long journey ahead of us."

Virginia got on her horse as well as did Amar and soon they were riding off into the distance horizon. She knew Ardeth had meant they had a long way to Cairo but she felt as though the statement could apply to her life in general, she had a long journey ahead of her and she wasn't entirely clear as to where this journey would take her.

**Sorry if there are typos I tried to comb through it the best I can. Also sorry if the little bit of religious stuff at the end is weird for anyone, I myself am not religious but giving the time period and the character I thought it made sense that they would be. Also in case anyone didn't know this WWI at the time was referred to The Great War because WWII hadn't happened yet. (Sorry the history major in me wants to be accurate). I know some people want to see romance soon but be patient I want this to seem realistic so I don't want to rush anything but it will be there eventually. Anyways, hope you liked it and don't forget to review. **


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